The extent to which anything could come of this, Olney notes, is the extent to which the Mets are interested in a pure salary dump. Beltran would be really useful if they could get him, but The Yankees aren’t necessarily desperate for offense. It might be different for a starter, of course, but it’s hard to fathom them getting rid of a useful young player for such a deal.

At the same time, given that Beltran represents the best bat, and maybe the only truly useful bat, currently on the market, they’d be wise to see if they can’t get both salary relief and a useful return for Beltran before considering talking either one or the other. There are a ton of teams, including the Giants, Tigers, Braves and Phillies who all may be willing to do better.

If it gets late and there’s no takers, sure, call the Yankees and see what they’d offer. But not now.

I heard the Mets are actually looking at kicking in most of his salary so they can get some good returns for him. That probably makes him perfect for Pittsburgh who is deep in the farm and not exactly flowing with cash.

I’m happy that the Pirates have finally won some games, but are they really ready to start trading away prospects for veterans? I have trouble believing that they will be in contention at the end of the season.

I think the fact that the Central is so weak makes this the prime time for the Pirates to pounce. Granted, once the playoffs start, they are not likely to do much with such a young team, but getting there would be a huge lift for the team and the fans. Provided they aren’t giving away “Grade A” talent, they should make a big push for Beltran. With this being a contract 2+ months…and maybe playoffs, he will thrive there. Then they will get a couple decent picks when he leaves.

What Chris said. Seriously, this is the perfect situation for the pirates imo. Beltran will yank up their run differential to a point where the redbirds and brewers stay in their wake. Without doing anything they are conceding defeat in the division imo. I know, it’s a strange world for you to fathom right now, but it can be done. With success.

Except that the Pirates really are playing over their heads, and it’s a three-team race, so acquiring a rental doesn’t make much sense. If they’re going to give away prospects, it needs to be for someone they’d have beyond this year, when their rebuild starts to really show signs of helping.

What’s more, they wouldn’t offer Beltran arbitration even if they could, given the chance he’d accept and take down an $18M salary. But they can’t anyway, as it’s a clause in his contract. So no draft picks.

Exactly Ari. There would be no picks. They would be giving up (probably) one top prospect and a fringe prospect for two months of Beltran. They would be better off going after a guy like Ludwick who would also help and only cost a fringe prospect or two. He’s nothing real special, but would be a good right handed power bat.

ARI, That’s only if you assume they are playing FAR over their heads, and have no wish to be a contender and keep Beltran. The fans are starting to show up at ball games, management sees this, they are in a great market and should exploit it imo. With that ballpark do you think Pittsburgh plans on remaining at the bottom of the division for long? When does that metamorphosis begin to take place? No better time than when they sit in first place after the AS break imo. And to get Beltran isn’t a true push to get to the WS, but to show the fans they do want to win, they have the ability right now to prove it for a change. How many years can the pirates be in “rebuild mode” anyway?

Chris Fiorentino - Jul 19, 2011 at 10:20 AM

It is easy for you guys to say forget this year. And I said no “grade A” prospects, which to me is a top prospect. Sure, I wouldn’t give up a top prospect for the guy. But a couple mid-level prospects from the stocked farm would not be a bad deal. Especially since the NL Central is down and 86-88 wins could easily win this division. With Beltran, the Pirates give themselves their best chance to make the playoffs. And as the Phillies found out in 2007…making the playoffs that first time, while usually getting your asses kicked, helps give the younger guys some experience and could lead to better things the next few years.

pisano - Jul 19, 2011 at 9:32 AM

It would be a good move for the Yankees, they can kill a few birds with one stone. They could have a viable outfielder plus get rid of two supposed dh’s, Andruw (strikeout ) Jones and also give Posada ( strikeout or hit into double play ) his walking papers. The Yankees can’t keep these two non producing losers any longer. Again, this would be a major upgrade,plus it clears a roster spot, but it probably won’t happen.

pisano- I’m with you here. If a mediocre starter is too dear (Jimnez) go for a proven bat. For better or worse our pitching may get us through, we might as well get the best batters and stop this lineup alphabet soup.

pisano, my friend. You hit the nail on the head. All the Yankee fans I know couldn’t agree with you more.
Did you realize after Posada’s little outbust of performance for about 3 weeks in June he’s batting under .125 for the month of July, pathetic. The funniest thing I saw in last night game was when Girardi used a pinch hitter (Jones) to bat for the DH (Posada). How ridiculous is that? They both stink.

Poorly thought out analysis for these reasons. Given that Beltran is a valuable commodity to many teams there’s NO WAY the Mets would let Beltran go to the Yankees without a decent return. Additionally, the longer they wait the less salary they dump. The article seemed to be a lure to get Mets and Yankees followers to read it – in that it was successful.

Regardless of who Beltran goes to or whether it’s just to “dump” salary or for players. I wouldn’t think they will get much for him in either case. Beltran is a free agent after this year. Most teams aren’t going to part with that much for a “rental” player, one that many teams even if they want to sign him going forward would be loath to offer him more then a couple of years considering his age and injury history. At least that’s my opinion.

uyf1950, & yankeefanlen… My friends we’re on the same page as usual. I think this would work if the Mets don’t try to hold the Yankees up with whom they want in return. I think we all understand the perfect trade is one that helps both teams, but we’ll see what the Mets want in return.

My friend. if the Yankees and Mets were to come to some happy middle ground. I could see the Yankees offering him a contract going forward. Be it laden with incentives because of his injury history. Him hanging around in 2012 would be a good deal for the Yankees. He could spell Swisher in right field and also be a part time DH (since obviously Posada will be gone). Hopefully that would keep him healthy. It could be a win, win. We just have to see if anything comes of this.